Maurice II Pok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maurice (II) Pok | |
|---|---|
| Master of the treasury | |
| Reign | 1262–1270 |
| Predecessor | Csák Hahót |
| Successor | Egidius Monoszló |
| Born | c. 1210 |
| Died | 1270 |
| Noble family | gens Pok |
| Spouse(s) | N Rátót (d. before 1267) |
| Issue | Nicholas Maurice III Stephen I Dominic |
| Father | Maurice I |
Maurice (II) from the kindred Pok (Hungarian: Pok nembeli (II.) Móric; died 1270) was a Hungarian baron in the 13th century, who served as Master of the treasury from 1262 to 1270. He was a faithful confidant and skilled soldier of King Béla IV of Hungary. The illustrious Meggyesi family descended from him.
Maurice II was born into the gens (clan) Pok, which possessed landholdings in Győr County in the westernmost part of Hungary. His father was Maurice I, the earliest known member of the kindred, who performed judicial activity in the court of Andrew II of Hungary and was elevated from the status of royal servants to the upper elite of the Hungarian nobility within a single generation.[1][2] Maurice had two younger brothers, John – a courtier of Béla, Duke of Slavonia – and Ded.[3]
Maurice married an unidentified daughter of Dominic I Rátót, who served as Master of the treasury and was killed in the Battle of Mohi.[4] Through his marriage, Maurice became a relative of the influential and rich gens Rátót, promoting his social ascension beside his court career. One of his brothers-in-law was the powerful baron Roland I Rátót. Maurice's wife died sometime before 1267.[5] Their marriage produced four sons. The eldest one was Nicholas, ancestor of the Meggyesi and Báthory families, who held positions in the royal court since the 1270s and acquired extensive landholdings and estates in the area between the rivers Tisza and Szamos (Someș), becoming one of the so-called oligarchs, who ruled de facto independently their dominion during the era of feudal anarchy by the end of the 13th century. The younger sons – Maurice III, Stephen I and Dominic – were mentioned only once in 1280 when they were excommunicated due to their involvement in the sack of Veszprém four years earlier.
Early career
Maurice raised in the royal court of King Andrew II, where his father served as Master of the stewards from 1233 to 1235.[6] There, the young Maurice received military and combat training. He grew up together with Duke Béla.[7] He belonged to the group of so-called "royal youth" (Hungarian: királyi ifjak, Latin: iuvenis noster), who supported the monarchs and took a leading role in royal military campaigns. He already served the elderly Andrew II in some military campaigns. According to Béla IV's charter, who ascended the Hungarian throne in 1235, Maurice entered his service at the very beginning of his reign.[8]
His earliest activity was recorded by the royal charter of Béla IV, issued in January 1246, regarding the events of the first Mongol invasion of Hungary, which took place five years earlier. Accordingly, when the Mongols stormed into Hungary in the spring of 1241, Maurice was sent to spy on the location of their camp and the size of their strength. During this act, Maurice barely escaped death. Thereafter, he took part in the disastrous Battle of Mohi on 11 April 1241. According to Béla's charter, Maurice pushed to the ground and killed a Mongol warrior with his spear, who galloped his horse to the direction of the Hungarian monarch in order to capture or kill him.[8] After the catastrophic defeat, Béla IV and his royal companion – including Maurice – fled to the coast of the Adriatic Sea, where the monarch resided until the withdrawal of the Mongols in the next year.[7][9] During that time, Maurice performed undisclosed envoy services both abroad and domestically.[8]
.jpg)